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ACUMEN FUND INC
NEW YORK, NY · EIN 134166228 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE Q123 · International Affairs · Large ($10M-$50M) · acumen.org
revenue
$46.4M
expenses
$34.2M
net assets
$204.1M
employees
140
volunteers
12
program ratio
77%
mission · from form 990

ACUMEN'S MISSION IS TO CHANGE THE WAY THE WORLD TACKLES POVERTY BY INVESTING IN COMPANIES, LEADERS AND IDEAS.ACUMEN IS A GLOBAL FORCE OF ENTREPRENEURS, INVESTORS, PHILANTHROPISTS, AND SOCIAL INNOVATORS WORKING TOGETHER TO BUILD A WORLD BASED ON DIGNITY. WE WERE FOUNDED BY JACQUELINE NOVOGRATZ ON THE RADICAL IDEA THAT BUSINESS, WHEN CULTIVATED WITH MORAL IMAGINATION, CAN BREAK THE CYCLE OF POVERTY. WE INVEST IN TRANSFORMATIONAL COMPANIES, BUILD SUSTAINABLE MARKETS, AND PREPARE LEADERS WITH THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO CREATE A MORE JUST AND INCLUSIVE FUTURE. SINCE 2001, WE HAVE SCALED COMPANIES AND SHAPED MARKETS IN SOME OF THE HARDEST-TO-REACH COMMUNITIES ON THE PLANET, IMPACTING OVER HALF-A-BILLION LIVES.

profile · synthesized from sources

Acumen Fund invests in social enterprises, leaders, and ideas to combat global poverty through patient capital. It targets sectors including renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, education, and healthcare, primarily serving low-income communities in Africa, India, Latin America, and the United States. The organization measures impact through customer outcomes, company growth, and systemic change, using data-driven approaches to inform investment decisions.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $4.46M
    INSIGHTS & IMPACT:THE GOAL OF THE INSIGHTS AND IMPACT TEAMS AT ACUMEN IS TO SUPPORT THE MISSION OF SOLVING PROBLEMS POVERTY THROUGH DATA-DRIVEN STRATEGIES. WE DO THIS BY BUILDING MODELS, SHARING THE INSIGHTS FROM OUR WORK AND HOLDING OURSELVES AND OUR PEERS ACCOUNTABLE. OUR IMPACT MEASUREMENT AND MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK HELPS US DEFINE AND MEASURE OUR IMPACT, INCLUDING BREADTH AND DEPTH OF IMPACT. THROUGH 2024, ACUMEN HAS REACHED OVER 719 MILLION LIVES IMPACTED THROUGH OUR PATIENT CAPITAL AND FOR-PROFIT INVESTMENTS.
  2. #2 $4.24M
    FELLOWS & LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS:WE PREPARE LEADERS WITH THE TOOLS, CAPITAL AND COMMUNITY THEY NEED TO BUILD SCALABLE SOLUTIONS TO POVERTY. OUR RECENTLY LAUNCHED-LEARNING ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM OFFERS A FULL-SERVICE SPACE FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND FELLOWS TO ENGAGE WITH EACH OTHER. ACUMEN ACADEMY'S HAS GROWN TO MORE THAN 1800 FELLOWS, HAS AWARDED 99 EARLY-STAGE GRANTS TO FOUNDRY MEMBERS AND FACILITATED OVER 1.3 MILLION ONLINE COURSE SIGN-UPS. THROUGH ACADEMY ORGANIZATIONS AND COMPANIES, WE HAVE REACHED 71 MILLION LIVES IMPACTED.
named programs · 3 · from sources

What they call their work

Acumen East Africa Education Facility (AEF)
Deployed $6 million in patient capital to five early-stage education ventures in East Africa, combining equity, technical assistance, and performance-based financing to reach over 3 million learners and 200,000 teachers.
Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS)
Invested over $6 million in five companies providing improved cookstoves and cleaner fuels, impacting 21 million lives and mitigating 18 million tons of carbon dioxide.
Promoting Inclusion Through Leadership and Investment
Project focused on advancing gender inclusion across Acumen's portfolio and internal practices, supported by Global Affairs Canada.
activities · 5 groups

What they do

  • Clean Cooking Solutions Implementation 2 activities
    • Advocacy for monetizing social and environmental impact
      Advances the concept of linking financial value to positive social and environmental outcomes through investments and public reporting. Mitigated 18 million tons of carbon dioxide through clean cooking technology investments.
    • Support for clean cooking technologies and housing solutions
      Finances companies that manufacture and distribute improved cookstoves and cleaner fuels, resulting in 3.8 million cookstoves sold and 21 million lives impacted. Also supported the construction or extension of 15,000 homes through housing finance initiatives in India.
  • Gender Equity Research and Advocacy 2 activities
    • Impact measurement and lean data initiatives
      Measures impact across portfolio companies by tracking customers reached and assessing gender inclusion and climate resilience. Spun off 60 Decibels in 2019 to advance lean data approaches for impact measurement and has partnered with it to collect gender-disaggregated customer data from 2020 to 2024.
    • Research on gender inclusion and equitable supply chains
      Conducts and publishes research on gender inclusion across its portfolio, including a report documenting internal and portfolio-wide efforts. Collaborated with 60 Decibels to analyze gender-disaggregated data and published findings on building equitable, climate-resilient cocoa supply chains centered on smallholder farmers.
  • Leadership Development Programs 1 activity
    • Operation of Acumen Academy for social change leaders
      Runs Acumen Academy, a lifelong learning community for entrepreneurs focused on poverty solutions, which has served over 1,600 innovators. Graduates apply leadership skills to drive real-world impact in social change.
  • Startup Acceleration & Business Growth Support 1 activity
    • Technical assistance and capacity building for social entrepreneurs
      Provides technical assistance, performance-based financing, and returnable grants to portfolio companies to support product development, commercialization, and impact measurement. Programs include support for education ventures in East Africa and the Energy for Livelihoods Accelerator in partnership with Apple.
  • Uncategorized 2 activities
    • Income impact studies of portfolio companies
      Conducted baseline and endline surveys, monthly diaries, and in-depth interviews with customers of portfolio companies to assess changes in income, costs, and profits. Partnered with 60 Decibels to study income impacts across Nigeria, India, and Sierra Leone.
    • Investment in social enterprises to alleviate poverty
      Deploys patient capital through equity and convertible notes to scale social enterprises that address global poverty by creating jobs and delivering essential products and services to low-income communities. Has invested in 167 companies over 22 years and contributed to impacting over 700 million lives since 2001.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$46.39M
Contributions & grants$44.10M95%
Program service revenue$1.51M3%
Investment income$273K1%
Other revenue$506K
expenses
Total expenses$34.23M
Program expenses77%
Admin / overhead12%
Fundraising11%
Salaries & benefits$16.55M
Grants paid out$4.47M
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$217.51M
Cash$80.18M
Investments$105.55M
Liabilities$13.42M
Net assets$204.09M
Liquid reserves65.1 mo
3 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue -12.8%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 14
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
JACQUELINE NOVOGRATZ CEO & DIRECTOR 40 $433K
CARLYLE SINGER JONES PRESIDENT 40 $374K
LYNN ROLAND BOARD SECRETARY/GENERAL COUNSEL 35 $337K
YASMINA ZAIDMAN CHIEF OF DEVELOPMENT & PARTNERSHIPS 40 $334K
AMRITA BHANDARI CHIEF OF INSIGHTS & STRATEGY 40 $302K
CATHERINE C NANDA DIRECTOR, ACUMEN AMERICA 0 $287K
KATHERINE PARKER CHIEF OF ACADEMY 40 $278K
JIWOO CHOI CHIEF OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES 40 $269K
AMON ANDERSON DIRECTOR, ACUMEN AMERICA 0 $255K
JULES SAMAIN MANAGING DIRECTOR, H2R 40 $240K
JACQUELINE WOO CFO (THRU 8/9/24) 40 $228K
ALEXANDRA GORDON CHIEF OF COMMUNICATIONS 40 $212K
SARAH BIEBER DIRECTOR, DEVELOPMENT & PARTNERSHIPS 40 $204K
SANDRA HALILOVIC DIRECTOR OF INVESTMENTS, H2R 40 $201K
board members · 11
  • ANDREA SOROS COLOMBEL — DIRECTOR
  • C HUNTER BOLL — DIRECTOR (THRU 3/31/24)
  • CRISTINA LJUNGBERG — DIRECTOR
  • HANS TAPARIA — DIRECTOR
  • JUAN CARLOS MORA URIBE — DIRECTOR (FROM 10/2/24)
  • KAREN PATERSON — DIRECTOR
  • KATHLEEN CHEW WAI LIN — DIRECTOR
  • KIRSTEN NEVILL-MANNING — DIRECTOR
  • MARGO ALEXANDER — DIRECTOR (THRU 3/31/24)
  • MATTHEW COUREY — DIRECTOR
  • NATE LAURELL — DIRECTOR
relationships · 17

Who they work with

  • 60 Decibels Partner — Collaborated on conducting customer surveys and impact research for the "Drivers of Income" study.
  • 60 Decibels Partner — Key partner in impact measurement, collaborating with Acumen to collect and analyze gender-based customer data from 2020 to 2024.
  • 60 Decibels Partner — Spun off 60 Decibels in 2019 as an impact measurement company based on Acumen's lean data approach.
  • Acumen Network — Global organization with regional teams guiding localized poverty solutions.
  • Acumen Academy Network — Alumni network of leaders trained in ethical leadership and social innovation.
  • Acumen Academy Partner — Leadership and training arm focused on developing entrepreneurs to build scalable solutions to poverty.
  • Acumen Latin America Network — Regional program under Acumen focused on Latin America, directed by Virgilio Barco.
  • Acumen Ventures Partner — Investment arm that supports businesses solving problems of poverty through capital and strategic growth support.
  • Apple Partner — Partnered with Acumen to organize the Energy for Livelihoods Accelerator program.
  • Global Affairs Canada Government — Funded the Promoting Inclusion Through Leadership and Investment project and supported the publication of the "Pathways to Growth" report through its Pan-Africa and Regional Development Division.
  • Loughborough University Partner — Collaborated under the Modern Energy Cooking Services Programme (MECS) to advance clean cooking solutions.
  • Powering Livelihoods Using Solar (PEII+) Government — Partner of the Pioneer Energy Investment Initiative, supporting Acumen's energy-focused investments.
  • Self Employed Women’s Alliance (SEWA) Partner — Partnered with SEWA to create SEWA Grih Rin Limited, a housing finance company.
  • Trellis: Climate Resilient Agriculture Investing Partner — Partner in the Pioneer Energy Investment Initiative, supporting climate-resilient agriculture investments.
  • United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Government — Funded the Modern Energy Cooking Services Programme (MECS) in partnership with Acumen and Loughborough University.
  • Value for Women Partner — Co-authored the "Pathways to Growth" report and collaborated on providing gender inclusion guidance for early-stage companies.
  • Zeraki Partner — Portfolio venture in the Acumen East Africa Education Facility focused on edtech solutions.
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Gender-Smart Investing with Data-Driven Insights
    methodology: gender-smart_investing
    By integrating gender equity practices organizationally and using gender-disaggregated data to inform investment decisions, we increase the effectiveness and inclusivity of poverty-alleviating solutions, because understanding differential impacts on women and men leads to better-designed enterprises and more equitable outcomes.
  • Integrated Impact Model Combining Capital, Leadership, and Market Building
    methodology: integrated_impact_ecosystem
    By integrating patient capital, leadership development, and market-building efforts, we address the root causes of systemic poverty, because durable change requires simultaneous intervention across financial, human, and structural dimensions of underserved markets.
  • Market Catalyzation Through Ecosystem Collaboration
    methodology: market_catalyzation
    By supporting collaboration among portfolio companies, value chain actors, governments, and investors, we build self-sustaining markets that address systemic poverty, because isolated interventions fail to shift systems, while coordinated ecosystems can achieve scale and permanence.
  • Moral Leadership Combined with Entrepreneurial Capacity
    methodology: moral_leadership
    By developing leaders who combine operational excellence with ethical commitment, we drive systemic change in poverty alleviation, because sustainable solutions require not just capital and business models, but also purpose-driven leadership that prioritizes dignity and long-term impact over short-term returns.
  • Patient Capital for Social Enterprise Development
    methodology: patient_capital
    By providing long-term, flexible financing and support to social enterprises, we enable them to achieve product-market fit and scale solutions that directly improve the lives of people in poverty, because traditional capital markets fail to serve ventures with longer return horizons despite high social impact potential.